Roman-Style Braised Oxtails

Melts In Your Mouth

Roman-style braised oxtails are slowly braised with tomatoes, carrots and onions. “Alla vaccinara” is old Roman for butcher style. When properly prepared the oxtails will melt in your mouth and produce a rich silky gravy to pour over your pasta, polenta or mashed potatoes.

You can also remove the meat from the bone and mix it with a little parmesan and ricotta and stuff a few shells or raviolis. It‘s simply delicious. If your looking for another oxtail recipe see my recipe for Oxtail and Barley Soup. It’s a hearty meal to be enjoyed throughout the winter.

Don’t forget to serve these braised oxtails with a nice Barolo and some crusty Italian bread.

INGREDIENTS

2 to 3 pound of oxtails

2 Tbls of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 pound of pancetta, chopped

1 yellow onion, diced

4 carrots, diced

5 stalks of celery, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup of flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 and a half cups of dry red wine

1 15oz can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of water

2 bay leaf

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

PREPARATION

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the oxtails on a cookie sheet and bake for around 30 minutes or until browned.

In a large skillet sauté the pancetta for a few minutes.

Add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery and parsley and sauté until the onions are slightly translucent

Add the wine and simmer for 1 minute.

Add the water, tomatoes and bay leaf.

Return the oxtails to the pan.

Season with salt and pepper

Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for around 11/2 to 2 hours.

Tilt the pan and skim the grease as possible or cool the mixture then refrigerate overnight then remove any grease from the top.

NOTE: Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.

Serves 4 people

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